Smerdiakov's Fathers in The Brothers Karamazov

Abstract

This article attempts to shed new light on Smerdiakov, and the parricide in Dostoevskii's The Brothers Karamazov, through an examination of various fathers: from biological and foster fathers to alternative fathers and the writer himself. While most of the characters and the narrator disapprove of Smerdiakov, this essay demonstrates that Zosima serves as the ideal father figure for him. In this respect, the Elder should be appreciated in contrast to Smerdiakov's other father figures, including Ivan (Smerdiakov's ideological father). In addition to Zosima, Dostoevskii, the creator and therefore the ultimate father of the novel, also implies his share of paternal responsibility.